A ridiculous federal law

Chalk up one more problem with the law, commonly known by its acronym, HIPAA.

According to an affadavit filed earlier this month, a man threw a rock through the driver's side of his wife's car as she drove away during an argument, hitting her and making her bleed. Then he lit a fire inside the house, intending to burn it down but injuring himself in the process. He was admitted to University Hospital.

Police learned through an informant he was there, but staff at the hospital refused to confirm that fact or to allow officers access to the man, citing the confidentiality requirements of HIPAA. They didn't even tell police when the man later was released.

When police later notified the man's mother that they had a warrant for her son's arrest and they knew he was living with her, the man quickly checked himself into the University Neuropsychiatric Institute. It was a perfect hideout. Even with an arrest warrant, police were denied information by hospital staff, citing HIPAA. Not until they obtained a search warrant were they given any information. Finally, they were able to book the man on investigation of assault and arson charges.

Domestic violence has the potential to quickly burst into a murderous rage. In this case, the law did nothing to protect a vulnerable spouse. But what is worse, even if the man already had committed a murder, hospital staff would have had no choice but to protect him.

This isn't the first time we've pointed out problems with this ill-conceived and confusing law. It causes medical providers to err on the side of secrecy, even to ridiculous lengths. It isn't entirely clear, for example, whether families would be able to get information on the whereabout of their loved ones during a widespread disaster, such as an earthquake.

Of course, in this day of Internet access and widespread identity theft, it is important to limit access to medical records. As we've noted before, a bank should not be able to call in a mortgage because a database indicates a customer has cancer. But HIPAA protects such information to the extent that secrecy trumps public welfare.

That's not good for the public, battered spouses or other patients in a hospital.